Hammer screw
 

Mike, Call me at 843-546-0609 this afternoon after 1 easteren time. Tom

Go to Brian Dudley's albums and look for the Hammer Gun dis assembly. It give an excellent, easy to follow pictorial description of how to remove the locks. Not hard at all.

I would not recommend the average person trying to remove this screw. Especially if the other half of the head comes off. Yes, pull the lock and send it to Tom.

As for the hammer falling off, it may. Most times these things are fused on there pretty good after years of being on there. But with no screw head holding it on, there is no doubt that shooting it would eventually work the hammer off its seat.

When I said that shooting it as is would not cause any harm, I meant it would not cause any physical or mechanical harm to the gun. As with any of these things, it is best to fix ASAP.

My guess is that the hammer was knocked hard on the top spur causing it to shift on the spindle thus breaking off the bottom the the screw head.

Thanks to everyone for their replies. I spoke to Tom earlier in the week, and he gave me instructions over the phone on how to take the lock plates off. I didn't have the appropriate screwdriver for this, so I ordered the Magna Tip Thin Bit set from Brownell's (something I had been meaning to do anyway) and it arrived this evening. I was able to remove the lock plate with the broken screw, and it's boxed up to be shipped to Tom for repair tomorrow.

M.

Look on the bright side of your current unfortunate circumstance. If you miss a couple of targets after you get the gun repaired, you have the excuse of breaking in the new hammer screw. And, you can impress your friends with two other facts; you have a custom made hammer screw and you've done business with Tom Carter. Altogether it's a win/win for you. Good luck and happy shooting.

Well, I'm happy to report that I'm back in business thanks to Tom. I received my lock plate with the new hammer screw earlier this week and it's back on the gun and ready for action. The screw looks great, and I've got plenty of time to shoot it before the Southern. Thanks again Tom!

Mike